The real story behind Roy Keane’s “shock” Aston Villa exit was due to disagreements he had with several key players at the club, according to Sportsmail
Keane left his post as Paul Lambert’s number two just six months into the job. The initial reason given was so that the Corkonian could concentrate fully on his role with the national side but this may not have been the case, according to a source who spoke to Sportsmail.
It was a combination of row after row and none of them were in private,
The problem with Keane is that he demands the same standards that he was used to at United and the lads at Villa don’t get paid enough to put up with that kind of crap. He just got everybody down.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when a verbal dispute with Agbonlahor almost escalated into a physical confrontation. It is understood the Villa stalwart was discussing tactics with manager Paul Lambert when Keane interrupted. Agbonlahor didn’t take too kindly to Keane’s interjection and responded,
Excuse me, but I’m talking to the boss!
The two men then became involved in a heated altercation and had to be separated from each other. Lambert held a meeting with Keane later that day when they decided on the assistant manager’s early resignation.
Apparently, Keane also clashed with Fabian Delph. He allegedly criticised Delph during a training season in front of the entire team, which the English midfielder did not appreciate. Delph was said to have shouted “Don’t try to f****** mug me off!” back at Keane during the incident.
The anonymous source also opened up about how Keane’s presence negatively affected the morale in the squad.
The atmosphere was horrible. It went downhill the moment Keane arrived. He pissed off all the big names he shouldn’t have pissed off and his relationship with the senior players slowly fell apart.
There was so much gloom about the place every time he turned up. When he went there was just a feeling of euphoria and relief.
Aston Villa strongly deny Keane left the club due to arguments he had with the players and also claim that Agbonlahor was not involved in any row with the coach. However, the Daily Mail are reporting that the Villa players have also been sworn to secrecy over the real story of Keane’s exit.
Hat-tip to Daily Mail
